The scenario almost sounds like the start of a sci-fi joke: A child of the 1980s, the deadliest woman in the galaxy, a tattooed green warrior, a talking raccoon and a sentient alien tree walk into an intergalactic prison.

Instead, it’s the start of a new space saga, Guardians of the Galaxy, due Aug. 1 from Marvel Studios. Directed by James Gunn, the film is based on the cult comic book and continues to explore theMarvel Cinematic Universe of the Iron Man andAvengers films but in an entirely different way.

I’ve said it before, I don’t know how well this will do. It will be interesting to see.